Chock it Up to a Lost Bet
by CassBlake
Summary: [Complete] What is a Malfoy to do after losing a bet... And who just won the costume contest!


Title: "Chock it Up to a Lost Bet"  
Author: Cassie Blake  
Disclaimer: The Potterverse belongs respectively to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., Scholastic, etc. I only play around with the characters from time to time...

"Chock it Up to a Lost Bet"

By C.K. Blake

The Hogwarts' Halloween ball was a huge affair, it had been since it was reinstated back in Draco Malfoy's fifth year, as was the costume competition, for best and most original costume, and with this being his final year, Draco Malfoy was determined to win the competition. He gave a debonair smirk to his reflection in the mirror and gave his perfectly tailored to look "grungy" pirate hat a tilt back so that his artfully made up face complete with black eyeliner could be seen and sighed over.

After a moment he decided to loosen up his peasant shirt show a bit more of his amazingly sexy chest. Just as he was putting the finishing touches onto his look, with a mass of rings and dangly jewelry a loud banging at the Slytherin boys' bathroom sounded. Draco rolled his eyes and casting one last look at his reflection said quite confidently, "What can I say? I was born a naughty boy! And the eyeliner only adds to the effect! I will most certainly be mobbed."

As the banging continued, now to the point of the heavy door rattling on its hinges Draco looked heavenward before throwing the door open and trying to act as though his heart hadn't leapt to his throat at the sight of Gregory Goyle's immense fist nearly pounding into his chest and knocking him across the room.

"Goyle!" he bit out. "The bloody door is open!"

"Oh, yeah, sorry," the large boy said.

Draco looked at his minion (as friend was too good an adjective to describe the boy) and burst out laughing, doubling over and nearly losing his carefully placed pirate hat. "Goyle?! What the bloody hell? And who drew that scar on your forehead and those ridiculous glasses. Are you going to the bloody ball as...as..." it was just too funny for him to finish.

"Harry Potter," Goyle finished sullenly for him.

By then Draco was roaring with laughter. "Why?" he managed to wheeze past the laughter.

"Lost a bet to that soddin' cow Pansy. You should see Crabbe," Goyle answered and then a small smile cracked across his face.

"Oh," Draco said after finally recovering himself from his momentary and uncharacteristic lapse.

"Yeah," Goyle said. "He has to go as Weasel."

"What?!" Draco said and fell into a relapse of the previously mentioned laughter, and recovered himself. "And what, pray tell, is Pansy dressed as?"

Goyle said but one word, and it made Draco shudder, "Tinkerbell."

Having had enough of the laughter to make his stomach churn for months, Draco then headed toward the common room, and upon seeing Crabbe in tacky clothes and a red wig, stifled the giggles building in his throat and quickly left the dungeons lest he run into Pansy dressed in a tarty short green dress and tights, with filigree gold wings.

Upon reaching the double doors of Great Hall, Draco stopped in his tracks as he faced the back of someone suspiciously dressed up like a pirate. Draco's hand shot out and grabbed the person's shoulder before spinning them about and then his eyes widened and he snapped out, "Zabini! How dare you partake upon my idea! I am the only Captain Jack Sparrow showing up at the ball tonight, and I fully intend on claiming the title of most original costume."

Blaise snorted with laughter, his dark eyes burning with repressed mirth. "Draco, I saw the movie and for the record Captain Jack Sparrow wasn't a blond, but I must admit that I love what you did with that eyeliner."

"Movie? As in muggle film? Muggles would dare blaspheme the greatest pirate of the Wizarding World?!" Draco began to rant in hysterics.

At this Blaise rolled his eyes. "Jack Sparrow looted, plundered, and drank like a bloody fish. He had a funny walk, and only became a pirate to escape the jurisdiction of the English Ministry of Magic. He lost two ships and was marooned on various islands several times. I also remember that he was banished from Singapore for a fling with a married woman. Here is your great pirate of the Wizarding World in a nutshell."

Draco was righteously outraged by this proclamation. "How dare you, Zabini! You are a pureblood and you would take the word of a bunch of bloody muggle film directors! And he managed to escape every time he was marooned!"

"Actually Binns was lecturing about him in detail only last week, Draco, and he escaped when he became sober enough to realize he was a wizard and could apparate," Blaise said and then began to nonchalantly examine his fingernails.

Draco growled indignantly and nearly challenged Blaise to a duel, when an angel suddenly appeared and pulled open the doors of Great Hall before entering. Draco as well as Blaise were promptly gob smacked. Draco was the first to recover and said, "I bet I can get her to leave with me by the end of the night."

Blaise looked at his housemate, and smiled wickedly, "A bet? What are the terms?"

"Well," Draco said and then he grinned. "If I managed to get that girl to leave with me by the end of the night you will have to seduce Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley into a threesome, where I get to catch them and lord it over them for the rest of their lives. Oh and I have the perfect potion you could slip to Potter and the little Weasel to make them more than willing..."

"And if you don't leave with her by the end of the night?" Blaise cut in.

Draco narrowed his eyes at the insolent pirate before him. "That won't happen, but you can name your terms anyway," Draco said, his cool gray eyes burning with the challenge.

"Very well," Blaise said, "If you do not leave with that girl then you will leave with me, and I will own you for three months time."

"Own a Malfoy? Inconceivable," Draco replied.

"Does this mean you're afraid of the challenge?" Blaise asked.

"Of course not," Draco hissed. "You have a deal. Oh and I hope you like threesomes Zabini."

"Oh," Blaise smirked. "I'm always open to new experiences, Draco," the boy said with a flourish and chucked the blond under the chin gently with his hand, but it was enough to annoy the Malfoy.

"You'll pay for that, Zabini," Draco growled.

"Oh, I hope so," the boy replied, before pushing open the double doors and entering the ball.

Draco was about to follow his fellow housemate into the ball when he noticed someone in a bright red dog costume with a dog collar that red "Clifford" followed by yet another pirate, this one with burning green eyes.

"Bugger!" Draco growled. "Is everyone stealing my ideas? Even Potter's trying to be Captain Jack Sparrow!"

* * *

Upon entering the Great Hall, Blaise looked around for the girl that had entered only a moment before. There was no way that Malfoy was going to win this bet. Blaise had waited too long to have an opportunity to own Draco Malfoy, to bring him down a peg or two.

Finally he spotted the girl, and a smile tugged at his lips as his eyes fell upon her. She was truly a vision to behold. Her chestnut hair was swept up in intricate plaiting and a silver diadem with the horns of a crescent moon pointed to the heavens, and her shimmery iridescent gown seemed to flow about her, almost as though the wind were circling her, caressing her like a lover, the material was beautiful and cut in an elegant fashion, and she appeared to have stepped out of a book of ancient Greek Gods and Goddesses. He began to make his way through the crowds of students until he came upon her.

Her back was too him once he reached her. Her hand was at her side, and he took it and bent down to kiss her hand, just as she turned to him and said, "Oh, Harry, since when have you..." she trailed and her toffee-colored eyes widened as she realized that the pirate that had just kissed her hand was not Harry as he looked up at her and stood to his full height, nearly a foot taller than her.

She swallowed thickly as she looked at the handsome young man before her. He was smiling upon her, and her heart fluttered, and she even noted that he looked very good in eyeliner. "I'm sorry..." she began. "I thought you were someone else."

"Granger?" he asked with a bit of a laugh. "Bloody hell, is that you? You're absolutely, maddeningly gorgeous."

Hermione blushed a bit and then narrowed her eyes. "Wait, you didn't know it was me?" she said.

"No. Hadn't a clue," he answered, "But I must say I am pleasantly surprised," and then after a thought asked, "Do you even know my name?"

"Zabini," she replied.

"Ten points to Gryffindor," he said and then bent down until his lips brushed against her soft mouth. He sought to deepen the kiss by letting is tongue slip across her lips. She gasped, and he took that as an invitation for his entrance, as he deepened the kiss, and she began to respond. When he drew back from the kiss, her head was still inclined upward towards his and her eyes were closed. She blushed once she realized he'd withdrawn and hastily tilted her head back down.

"Zabini, what just..." she began and was cut off as he pressed his right forefinger gently against her lips.

"After such a kiss, I expect you to call me Blaise," he spoke with a hint of impishness, that again caused Hermione's heart to flutter, and then he continued. "And as I assume you know who I am dressed as, may I inquire what creature you have become, because I'm certain that you are more ravishing than they could ever hope to be, Granger."

Again the Gryffindor blushed. "If I am to call you Blaise, then you may call me Hermione, and I'm a muse, the muse Calliope to be exact, she was the muse..."

"Of epic poetry," Blaise cut in, and was awarded with a stunned look from the girl.

"What?" he asked at her look and then smirked. "You aren't the only one dependant upon books and cleverness you know. I'm just more subtle and quiet than you."

Hermione was about to respond when an aristocratic hand covered in various rings descended upon Blaise's shoulder, and the dark haired pirate was spun around. Hermione took a step to the side and saw an obviously angry Draco Malfoy, dressed similarly as a pirate...

* * *

Draco Malfoy, after spending a few moments lamenting over his very original idea of dressing as Captain Jack Sparrow being stolen, finally straightened up, and prepared himself for the task that he was about to perform. After all there were two things Malfoys never did: Back down from a challenge, and lose a bet, well there was a third thing, but his father hadn't been clear on what that had been...

Draco shook his head to clear his thoughts, nearly disturbing the hat's placement and causing several of the braids he'd done in his long silvery blond hair to fly about him. He simply snorted, checked his costume for wrinkles, and then headed toward the double doors and threw them open as he made his grand entrance.

Upon entering he took a moment to look about Great Hall and noticed with mild amusement the assortment of tackily costumed individuals around him, the worst being the Hufflepuffs who were wearing costumes reminiscent of Disney Cartoons, although he had to grudgingly admit that Hannah Abbot looked shockingly attractive dressed as the Cheshire Cat. Draco rolled his eyes upon seeing Neville Longbottom dressed as an odd looking yellow bear wearing a red shirt and carrying about a honey pot.

Then his eyes fell on the object of the bet, and was she kissing... No, Blaise had not just made a move on that girl simply to make Draco Malfoy lose! He couldn't have, Blaise was a Zabini, and such trickery was something that only a Malfoy would do! How dare he steal the Malfoy tricks and use them _against_ a Malfoy! It was more than Draco could stand. He was now more determined than ever to win this bet. So he approached the stunning girl, and the treacherous Zabini. He noticed his housemate's back to him, grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around to begin the confrontation, but as the girl stepped out from behind Zabini, Draco found that his mouth was hanging open and he was at a loss of words, but of course he quickly recovered and then managed but one word phrased as a question, "Granger?"

She rolled her eyes at his obvious confusion and stunned expression and then snapped, "Yes, Malfoy. What do you want? And will you kindly let go of Blaise? What business do you have over here anyway? Go find that little twat, Pansy. She's usually attached at your hip by now."

Blaise looked at Hermione and couldn't help the grin spreading across his face. "Saucy too? I like that in a girl," he said and then turned to the obviously brassed off blond. "Looks as though she's leaving with me mate."

Hermione looked between Blaise and Draco for a moment and then narrowed her eyes. "Now wait a tick. What's going on?"

Here Draco saw his opportunity and smirked wickedly at Blaise before he said, "Well, we had this bet going. That if you left the ball with me, Blaise would have to do me a...favor... And it's rather obvious that you would no longer want to leave with him now, so why not accompany me?"

Hermione had to fight the laughter that suddenly sprang forth within her as she said, "You think I would leave the ball with you? That's funny. And Blaise, what would you win if I left with you?"

"Well, it wasn't about you leaving with me, not originally, but I wouldn't want you to leave here with anyone else. Oh and if you leave with anyone aside from Draco, here, then he would be mine for three months. I would own him," Blaise answered with a slight shrug.

Hermione lifted an eyebrow and looked from Blaise to Malfoy and then smiled. "Well, I suppose now that I'm privy to this little wager, I'm in. I'm leaving right now, with you Blaise," and then she turned a mischievous glance toward Malfoy, "But I want him to come with us, oh, and I want a stake in owning him for three months as well."

"What?" Draco roared.

"Done," Blaise said.

Hermione then smiled and a faint rosy hue rose to her cheeks as she looked from Blaise to Draco and then down at her feet, before she finally let out a breath, looked up at both boys, and said, "I hope you two like threesomes."

* * *

"Don't put that there!" Hermione gasped, and pulled back Blaise's hand.

He looked down at her in confusion as he asked, "Well, where else do I put it?"

"He's got a point, Granger," Draco said from her left.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "The key doesn't go there you prats, that's just a trick for people that have never been to this room before... You see the key goes here. The real hole is hidden so that only those who know where to find it can use it."

"And how did you learn about this secret room of yours?" Blaise asked as he put the key in the hidden lock and the portrait of a stately looking woman swung outward.

"Oh, well," Hermione blushed. "_Hogwarts: A History_ has been updated recently."

Then she took both pirates by the hand and led them into the room, the portrait swinging closed behind them. She smiled at the pair and then said, "That's how I knew where to find the key and the lock."

The boys then looked around the room, and saw a rather large four-poster bed with violet velvet curtains, a fur rug set before a large stately fireplace. The room had a nice warm feel to it even though it lacked windows, and was rather elegant despite it's lack of furniture.

Hermione then shyly lifted her hand to Draco's face, her hand lightly caressing his cheek as she leaned up and captured his mouth boldly with hers, all the while, with Blaise's fingers trailing up her back, running across the soft light material of her costume, and sending shivers up her spine. When she pulled back from the kiss Draco looked dazed, and didn't have time to react before Blaise followed her lead and firmly assaulted the Malfoy's mouth...

The ball might have been well underway, but so was a budding relationship...or three...

* * *

The crowded Hall suddenly grew silent as the lights came up brightly. They all looked expectantly toward the stage, where the staff table usually resided as Dumbledore walked across the stage and the singer of the Weird Sisters stepped aside. Dumbledore cleared his throat and then began to speak:

"It is now time to announce the winner of our costume competition."

A hush gathered around the crowd as one and all awaited the announcement with baited breath. Dumbledore held up his hand and suddenly an envelope appeared there. He then began to open it, and facing the crowd with a twinkle glowing in his eye he smiled brightly and looked across the room, until he finally said, "And the winner is Severus Snape."

The crowd erupted into noise at the announcement and it was finally a Hufflepuff, Justin Finch-Fletchly who was heard above the den as he shouted, "But no one's seen the git...uh...Professor all night, sir!"

Then after a few shouts of agreement everyone noticed the rather tall fuzzy pink bunny that was stalking up to the stage. Mouths fell open as the two furry pink paws reached up and snatched the head of the costume off to reveal the greasy head of the Potions Professor. Several Hufflepuffs, and Neville Longbottom sank to the floor in a dead faint, as Professor Dumbledore said, "Well, Severus, what have you to say about winning the title of best and most original costume?"

Severus Snape glared at the headmaster and then grumbled something. Dumbledore began to chuckle and said, "What was that Severus, I don't think I quite heard."

Finally the Potions Master, seething with rage and humiliation, and the utter fact that he absolutely detested pink, growled loud enough for his reply to echo throughout all of Great Hall, "I lost a soddin' bet. Go on McGonagall Lord it over me now!"

He then stalked down from the stage, and while not as impressive as his billowing black robes, his fluffy pink bunny tale twitched all the while as he stalked out of Great Hall with the head of his costume tucked murderously beneath his left arm.

End.

* * *

A/N: This particular fic was in response to the First Official Challenge at It's Always the Quiet Ones. I hope I did the challenge justice! Here are the requirements!

The challenge: MasqueradePairing: D/Hr, B/Hr, or D/Hr/BRequirements: Halloween or a costume partyPost-Hogwarts or seventh yearPirate!Draco or Pirate!BlaiseHermione has to say, "Don't put that there!"Either Draco or Blaise must say, "What can I say? I was born a naughty boy!"A kissMust include three of the following:Crookshanks  
Peeves  
Greg Goyle  
Pansy  
Cho  
Luna  
Hannah Abbot  
Ernie McMillan  
  
Justin Finch Fletchley  
Vince Crabbe  
Neville  
Millicent  
Remus Lupin  
MoodyHope you all enjoyed the story, and the little pink bunny at the end...Ta Luvs,  
Cassie 


End file.
